


We’re with you... through thick and thin

by spooderboyandtincan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Adorable Peter Parker, Blood and Injury, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Platonic Cuddling, Poor Peter Parker, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Scared Tony Stark, Uncle James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Worried Tony Stark, dad tony stark, hurt/ comfort, no starker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:00:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spooderboyandtincan/pseuds/spooderboyandtincan
Summary: "He kicked off their pile of rubble and began to roll down, trying desperately to cushion Peter’s head as they gained momentum. Sharp stones slice at his skin but he favored protecting his kid far, far above his own safety.There was an explosion, so bright that purple swam in front of Tony’s closed eyes. Shards of glass and rock rained down on them and Tony could do nothing but squeeze Peter tighter and press his lips to his forehead and hope this wouldn’t be the end."Or: Rookie wizard Neoma Ambrosia may be new to the whole magic business, but she's a lot more dangerous than any of them thought.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, May Parker & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 147





	We’re with you... through thick and thin

Tony felt his heart leap in fear when he heard a certain spider-baby’s voice behind him. He whirled around in mid air, dropping a few feet in shock before he stabilized himself.

“Hi, Mr. Stark!” Peter chirped excitedly, skillfully swinging in a large arc and flipping onto his armor, the eyes of his mask almost comically wide. “What’s up?”

Tony struggled to see the boy who was perched on his back, twisting his neck back and forth. “What the _hell_ are you doing here, Pete?”

“I just wanted to help,” he whined, his head hovering upside down in front of Tony’s face. 

“No, you don’t,” he grumbled, trying to grab hold of his kid, who was crawling all over his back to avoid him. “You want to go back to school and learn about why the adults in your life are trying to keep you _safe.”_

Peter giggled. “I know, Tony, and I _am_ safe. I have you!”

He said it so cheerfully, so matter-of-factly, as if Tony’s heart hadn’t melted and his brain hadn’t turned to mush at his precious kid’s words. He was grateful for the helmet shielding his face, otherwise Peter might have been soaked in his tears.

“Mr. Stark? You okay?”

He jerked out of his stupor. “Yeah.” He sniffed. “Yeah, buddy, I’m great.”

“Okay.” Peter sounded suspicious, but he let it drop. “Sure.”

“So, um... what’s going on?” He looked around, trying to find the other Avengers and their opponent(s).

Peter barely saw the blast in time. 

He jumped up and aimed a web at the nearest skyscraper, pulling Tony with him, the man letting out a shout of surprise. 

The spot where they had just been was now raining down ash and bright purple sparks.

Peter blinked the black spots out of his eyes, his ears ringing slightly. Gradually he realized that Tony was shouting; they were moving fast, Tony’s metal arms wrapped tight around him.

“Peter! Are you okay, Bug?” the man yelled frantically, masked face hovering in front of Peter’s.

“Arachnid,” he corrected. He heard Tony breathe a heavy sigh of relief. They landed on the roof of a towering skyscraper. Peter was sure that Mr. Stark was running over his vitals in the suit and checking for any injuries, no matter how minor they might be. Peter rolled his eyes.

“What _was_ that?” he asked, looking around wildly. “Is Mister Doctor Strange here?”

“I am,” said a dry voice behind them. “But that wasn’t me.”

Tony jumped protectively in front of Peter as they spun around, then relaxed, just slightly, when he recognized the tall figure standing in front of the remnants of a glowing orange portal.

“Strange,” Tony greeted.

“Stark.” Stephen nodded.

Peter waved, grinning.

“What’s with the light show?” Tony asked, setting a hand on his kid’s shoulder.

“A wizard,” the doctor said shortly. “And a powerful one, too. Neoma Ambrosia. She’s fairly new to magic, but she’s dangerous.”

“I think Neoma means ‘new moon’ in Greek,” Peter mused quietly. Tony ruffled his hair proudly, nodding. _My genius kid,_ he thought fondly. 

“Tony! What’s going on?”

Natasha, Sam, Steve, and Bucky ran up. Peter couldn’t help but wonder how they had climbed up to the roof. He imagined Sam trying to lug two super soldiers and a heavily armed assassin up a one hundred seventy-five meter tall skyscraper; Peter was sure he could do it.

“There’s a crazy wizard trying to kill us!” the young spider said enthusiastically. “Her name’s Neoma Ambrosia, which I’m pretty sure means ‘new moon’ in Greek, which is like, a super cool name. And she shoots purple fire! We haven’t seen her in, like, fifteen minutes, though.”

Tony chuckled as the other four Avengers blinked. His kid was a whirlwind, and he _loved_ to listen to him chatter.

“Everyone keep watch!” Steve yelled, making Peter flinch. Tony squeezed his neck gently and glared at the super soldier, who remained oblivious. “Eyes peeled like grapes!”

“Ew,” Peter muttered. 

They spent the next ten minutes straining their eyes for any sight of Neoma.

Tony was about to turn to Steve and suggest they search the ground, when the edge of the roof exploded with a familiar purple fire, _right where Peter was standing._

Tony screamed his child’s name, white, icy-hot terror running through his veins. Rubble tumbled off that building, falling with the small red and blue body. 

“No,” he whispered, thrusters at full speed. “No. **_No._** No no no _no!”_

He crashed to the concrete and sprinted to the rubble that covered his kid. 

“Peter, Peter, Peter,” he muttered fervently, throwing the huge boulders with his iron hands as if they were pebbles. He was sure he could lift them just as easily without his suit with the fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins. All the while he yelled, over and over again, the name of the one reason he got out of bed in the morning, the one reason he was alive: his only child, his son, his _baby._

At last, at _last,_ he spotted delicate curls peeking out from a hole in a red mask. Tony sobbed and crumpled to his knees, clearing the last of the rocks off of the boy’s small body.

_“Peter,”_ he gasped. He peeled off his mask as gently as he could, hands trembling. _“Peter.”_

Miraculously, he was somehow awake. Tony sobbed frantically and kissed his forehead. His face was bruised and bloody, with tears rolling slowly off his cheeks. Peter held out shaking arms and made grabby hands, whimpering like a wounded kitten.

Tony ever so gently maneuvered the boy into his lap, Peter slumping heavily against his chest. He cupped his cheeks and kissed both of them, stroking his forehead and smiling tremulously. “Petey. Oh _Petey.”_

He bit back another cry, trying to hold in for his kid, who was cradled in his arms, bleeding and broken. Peter coughed, and with tremendous effort, lifted his hand to Tony’s face.

The man grasped it instantly, squeezing his small hand tight and trying to rub some sense of warmth into his cold skin. He pressed light kisses to the back of his hand. 

“Oh, baby, oh my god,” Tony whispered breathlessly, rocking his child back and forth in his arms. “You’re okay, you’re okay, sweetheart, shh.” 

Tears flowed down both their faces. Tony rushed to comfort Peter, forcing what he hoped was a reassuring smile and wiping away the tears with the pad of his thumb. “We’re gonna fix you up, Petey, just hold on. Hold on for me, ‘kay? Doctor Strange and the rest are just making sure it’s safe, and Doctor Cho is coming right now- she’ll be here any second, okay? You just gotta hold on, Petey.”

He sniffed and snuggled Peter more tightly against his chest. “All you gotta do is focus on me. Just look at me, honey. I love you, baby, I love you so much. Stay with me, _il mio bambino.”_

Peter's eyes drifted lazily up to meet his. He struggled to focus on Tony’s face, his vision blurry and his eyes glassy. “Mi-mis’ er St’rk,” he croaked. _“‘Ony.”_ He coughed, struggling to form words with his bloody, scratched lips and his dry mouth.

“Shh, shh,” Tony soothed. _“Shh,_ baby, I’m right here. You’re doing you great, Petey.” He tangled his fingers in Peter’s curls, smoothing his hair down comfortingly. “You’re doing so great, sweetheart, I’m so proud of you.” Tony hastily wiped away his tears, which had begun to fall down to Peter’s face. “Just hold on, _please.”_

He squeezed his hand tightly, looking away and blinking rapidly when he realized his façade of calmness was shattering. 

Peter whimpered.

Tony’s eyes snapped back to his kid in fear. “Petey-?” he asked worriedly, then followed his gaze.

“Oh god.”

The sounds of blasts and explosions and fighting that faded completely came back full force when he realized the wizard was just ten yards in front of them, standing tall on a hill rubble, her dark gray robes swirling around her.

Tony gasped. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he rushed to protect his kid. He wrapped his arms tightly around Peter’s head and curled around the small body, effectively shielding him from an inevitable spell or explosion. 

And then-

He kicked off their pile of rubble and began to roll down, trying desperately to cushion Peter’s head as they gained momentum. Sharp stones slice at his skin but he favored protecting his kid far, far above his own safety. 

There was an explosion, so bright that purple swam in front of Tony’s closed eyes. Shards of glass and rock rained down on them and Tony could do nothing but squeeze Peter tighter and press his lips to his forehead and hope this wouldn’t be the end. 

_Darkness._

~~~~~

_He was really to have an Aunt May and an Uncle Rhodey,_ Peter thought drowsily. He blinked slowly up at the two, trying to smile. Rhodey clapped him on the shoulder gently.

“You okay, kid?”

“Mmmm.” Peter tried to form words but his lips were dry and cracked and his throat was sore and barren. 

Aunt May grabbed a glass off the bedside table while Rhodey used the remote to raise the bed into a sitting position and helped Peter shift around. May pressed the glass to his lips and he gulped the cool water down gratefully.

“Small sips, sweetie,” May advised, pulling the glass away. The boy didn’t seem to mind. He gazed up at the ceiling for a long moment, and both Rhodey and May thought he was about to fall asleep, but then Peter frowned. He looked to his left, and then to his right. 

“‘Ony? Wh-where’s…?” he rasped. Tears began to well up in his eyes. “‘Ony?”

“Tony’s right over there, bud,” said Rhodey. He gestured to where the billionaire lay, just a few feet away in a white hospital bed almost identical to Peter’s.

“Wan’ him.” Peter tried to sit up but May pushed him back down easily. 

“Tony’s right there, honey, right there, why don’t you go back to sleep?” 

“Wan’ Dad,” he whined. He tried to sit up again but fell back. _“Dad.”_

“Oh- oh, that’s so _sweet,”_ May mumbled adoringly, while Rhodey tried to hold in a fond laugh.

“Dad!” Peter became increasingly more upset. Tears brimmed in his eyes and his bottom lip trembled.

“Okay, okay, Petey, calm down, it’s okay,” May cooed, rushing to comfort him and combing his hair. “Rhodey, can you help me move the bed?”

They unlocked the wheels of the bed and began to slowly roll it over to Tony.

~~~~~

When Tony faded back to the land of the living, he realized something was wrong right off the bat.

At first his realization was subconscious, in the pit of his stomach. Then, slowly, it grew, and grew, into full blown panic.

Something was missing- no some _one,_ someone he knew that he couldn’t live without, someone precious who was not just his world but his _universe-_

Peter.

_**Peter.** _

Tony’s eyes snapped open and he jolted up in what he now realized was a hospital bed. His head swam and he swayed, the floor looming dangerously closer before he was caught in a pair of strong arms.

“Tony!”

The owner of a familiar voice heaved him back onto the bed. He blinked, trying to clear his head, and realized it was Rhodey, his Rhodey, bent over to look him in the eye and looking very concerned. “Tones? You okay?”

Tony looked around wildly, clutching Rhodey’s arm. His eyes settled on Peter, who was smiling loopily at him a few feet away. May hovered at his side, frowning worriedly at Tony.

_“Petey.”_

He tried to escape Rhodey’s strong grasp, desperate to get to his kid. Rhodey tried to comfort the distraught father while May pushed Peter over to him.

“Peter- _Peter.”_ Tony began to sob. “Petey, c’mere. C’mere, baby.” 

May pressed the mattresses together and locked the wheels of the bed carefully, then double checking them just in case. She checked the various wires, making sure Peter’s IV, heart monitor, and oxygen tube were still in place. 

Meanwhile, with Rhodey’s help, Tony clambered over to his kid and almost collapsed next to him. He sobbed, cupping Peter’s face with gentle, calloused and resting his forehead against Peter’s. 

Tony was silent, spare the sharp sobs catching in his throat. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “‘M so sorry, Petey.” He began to crawl ungracefully under the covers and wrapped Peter ever so gently in his arms. The boy snuggled against him and hummed happily as Tony began fussing over him. 

He reminded Rhodey of a younger Tony at MIT, falling asleep in Rhodey’s bunk and holding a (Rhodey’s) teddy bear to his chest and snoring. 

“Geez, bud, you really can’t keep scaring your dad like this,” he muttered, grabbing Peter’s free hand and squeezing it. “He has a heart condition, y’know.”

Tony nodded and pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek, gasping softly in adoration at the giggle he received. His eyes were huge and sparkling with love. It was a sharp contrast to his previous tears, and much more sweet for Rhodey and May to watch. 

“Poor kiddie,” Tony murmured, stroking Peter’s cheek with a calloused thumb. “My poor kiddie.” 

“Aww,” Rhodey and May whispered almost simultaneously. They exchanged an amused glance and laughed.

Tony glared at them. _“Shhh._ He's resting!” he hissed, rather loudly. Peter blinked sleepily up at him, but Tony kissed his forehead to comfort him and he relaxed against his chest.

“Right,” May chuckled. “Right, sorry.”

Tony paused and then nodded in satisfaction. He combed his fingers through Peter’s hair soothingly and looked up to Rhodey and May. “This-this’s my baby. He’s my baby. M-my baby, my spider-baby,” Tony mumbled, kissing the boy’s forehead.

Rhodey snorted and struggled to hold in his laughter. May grinned. _“Our_ spider-baby,” she corrected, caressing Peter’s cheek with her fingers.

To their great amusement, Tony pulled the now asleep Peter to his chest protectively, his arms tightening around him as he buried his nose in his curls and shook his head. “Mine.” 

“Yours?” she laughed, raising her eyebrows.

“H-he’s _my_ baby, and I’m his dad. And it’s my job to-to protect him. ‘Cause I’m his dad,” he explained. “And I love him. So much. I love him.”

May giggled. “Aww, Tony, don’t worry, Peter knows it.” 

“FRIDAY, _please_ tell me you’re recording this,” Rhodey whispered.

“Rest assured, I am,” the AI replied, sounding as fond as a disembodied voice could be.

“This is adorable,” he said, looking back to the _very_ loopy Tony. May nodded. She patted Rhodey on the shoulder in a gesture of comfort, knowing how worried they both had been when they’d seen the medical helicopter land at the compound.

Trying to keep the two superheroes safe, as they had realized, was a challenge, especially when they couldn’t always be there. May couldn’t fly. And even though Rhodey could, they both had jobs that kept them busy.

It was hard to be there for a superhero, but it was easy to love them. They might not be there always, but _goddammit,_ they’d do anything and everything in their power to make sure they were okay. 

A soft snore, more like a purr than anything, interrupted the pair’s thoughts.

Peter’s cheek was squashed on Tony’s chest. Tony took the sleeve of his hospital gown and wiped the drool from his chin, looking unhappy about how rough the cloth was on his baby’s skin. 

“I need a hoodie,” he muttered. Rhodey graciously offered to grab one, happy to take a coffee break, and May left to grab one of Peter’s. (Though most of Peter’s hoodies were actually ones he had stolen from various friends and family.)

When Rhodey and May returned from the expeditions of rummaging through many messy drawers and selecting as many hoodies as they could find, they grabbed a quick coffee and hurried back to the medbay.

They found both Tony and Peter fast asleep. Tony’s arms were wrapped around his kid tightly, one hand in the boy’s curls and the other wrapped around his back and holding him close. Peter’s head rested on his chest as a makeshift pillow, looking absolutely tiny in the big bed with Tony protecting him, even in sleep. 

May laughed fondly, kissing Peter’s forehead and then settling in her squishy purple chair. Rhodey flopped down in a leather armchair and they both took a big swig of their coffees. 

Rhodey pulled out a Starkpad and began scrolling, while May fished a book and her glasses out of her purse. 

They would be there for as long as it took for Tony and Peter to recover. And after that, they would _still_ be there. They loved their superheroes, even though May and sometimes even Rhodey, forgot that they were superheroes too.


End file.
